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TOPSTORIESen-caTue, 31 Mar 2015 18:00:20 EDTTue, 31 Mar 2015 18:00:20 EDTCopyright Toronto Star 1996-2013 , http://www.thestar.com/termshttp://www.thestar.com60TORONTO STARhttp://www.thestar.com/etc/designs/thestar/images/general/thestar_250x40.pnghttp://www.thestar.com/feeds.topstories.full.rss
Mounties expand probe into Pamela Wallin’s corporate workhttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/03/31/mounties-expand-probe-into-pamela-wallins-work-on-corporate-boards.html
f993a591-030a-4f01-907c-11c897e9b828Tue, 31 Mar 2015 15:43:50 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2015/03/31/mounties-expand-probe-into-pamela-wallins-work-on-corporate-boards/wallinguelph2.jpg"><br/><p>OTTAWA&#x2014;The RCMP says Pamela Wallin committed fraud and breach of trust by billing the Senate for travel expenses related to her past work <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/06/06/pamela_wallin_earned_more_than_1_million_as_corporate_director_since_senate_appointment.html">on corporate boards</a> as well as for her role as chancellor at the University of Guelph.</p><p>Newly released documents from the Ottawa courthouse show the RCMP is seeking records from BMO Nesbitt Burns, Inc., Bell Media Inc. and the University of Guelph related to any expenses they paid to Wallin.</p><p>Terrence O&#x2019;Sullivan, the lawyer representing Wallin, could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday, but has said in the past that any board-related work Wallin billed to the Senate was due to administrative error.</p><p>&#x201c;I believe Senator Pamela Wallin has committed the offences of breach of trust and fraud by submitting fraudulent expense claims to the Senate of Canada. I believe that Senator Wallin traveled to Toronto to pursue personal and business interests, and later represented to the Senate that these travels were parliamentary related as she sought reimbursement for expenses incurred during these travels,&#x201d; RCMP Cpl. Rudy Exantus wrote in the information-to-obtain document dated Feb. 23 and released Tuesday.</p><p>The RCMP said it is investigating 150 expense claims filed to the Senate by Wallin and this document highlights 21 of them.</p><p>The document says the RCMP has found Wallin attended one event in Toronto related to a retirement advisory council at BMO that corresponds with a trip to Toronto for which she was reimbursed by the Senate.</p><p>It also noted there were 12 events related to the University of Guelph that took place in Toronto or Guelph that coincide &#x201c;with the timing of 12 expense claims submitted by Senator Wallin&#x201d; for trips taken to Toronto.</p><p>It also mentions 12 events scheduled for Bell Media, then known as CTVglobemedia, in Toronto that correspond with eight expense claims for which Wallin was reimbursed by the Senate for trips to Toronto.</p><p>Wallin has not been charged and none of these allegations have been proven in court.</p><p>Wallin was suspended from the Senate without pay in November 2013 along with Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau over allegations they had billed the Senate for inappropriate living or travel expenses.</p><p>Wallin has repaid $154,191 in expense claims, including interest.</p><p>Former senator Mac Harb, also in trouble for living expenses charged to the Senate, resigned earlier that year.</p><p>Wallin was named a Conservative senator representing Saskatchewan in 2008.</p>
Joanna Smith - Ottawa Bureau reporterPamela Wallin — right, giving Phil Fontaine an honorary degree in her former role as University of Guelph chancellor — was suspended from the Senate without pay in November 2013.Greg LaysonGuelph Mercury file photo<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.smith_joanna.html">Joanna Smith</a>Ottawa Bureau reporterOntario treasurer says deficit down to $10.9Bhttp://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/03/31/ontarios-treasurer-says-deficit-down-to-109b.html
2bcd5fb0-b06c-4033-91bb-44239cd0c283Tue, 31 Mar 2015 13:00:00 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/queenspark/2015/03/31/ontarios-treasurer-says-deficit-down-to-109b/charles-sousa.jpg"><br/><p>Ontario is hemorrhaging slightly less red ink than forecast.</p><p>Finance Minister Charles Sousa on Tuesday revised this year&#x2019;s deficit projection to $10.9 billion down from the $12.5 billion he projected last summer.</p><p>&#x201c;We worked very hard and reduced that by $1.6 billion,&#x201d; Sousa told a Toronto Board of Trade luncheon at the Hilton Hotel.</p><p>&#x201c;We are on track to balance the budget by 2017-18. We are determined and disciplined to balance the books by 2017-18,&#x201d; the treasurer said in a speech designed to publicize his upcoming budget.</p><p>&#x201c;Our path to balance is being achieved by transforming government programs and finding savings, by managing our compensation costs because we&#x2019;re all in this together and by maintaining the integrity of Ontario&#x2019;s revenue,&#x201d; he said.</p><p>Progressive Conservative finance critic Vic Fedeli said the Liberal government&#x2019;s rosier projections cannot be believed.</p><p>&#x201c;Experts continue to express skepticism about the Liberal government&#x2019;s fiscal plan and more specifically their claims that they (the Grits) will balance by 2017-18,&#x201d; Fedeli, the MPP for Nipissing, told a <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark.html">Queen&#x2019;s Park</a> news conference Tuesday before Sousa&#x2019;s speech.</p><p>&#x201c;The Conference Board of Canada said Ontario can&#x2019;t meet its pledge to balance the books . . . without spending cuts or tax hikes,&#x201d; the Tory said, noting the Ontario Chamber of Commerce predicted the province could reach a &#x201c;state of crisis unless the province cuts spending.&#x201d;</p><p>Fedeli pointed out internal government documents show the Liberal government still doesn&#x2019;t have a detailed line by line numbers for the 2017-18 budgets.</p><p>&#x201c;They are just left blank and this is supposed to show us how they balance the books. They show a made-up revenue number, they show a made up expense number but there is no line by line for either of them and they magically add to zero, a balanced budget in 2017-18,&#x201d; he said.</p><p>As previously disclosed by the <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/03/11/liberals-eye-10-billion-hydro-one-windfall.html">Star</a>, the Liberals are looking at selling off up to 60 per cent of the provincially owned Hydro One utility.</p><p>The transmitter is worth about $16 billion so the windfall could bring in $10 billion to bankroll public transit.</p><p>Sources say the Grits will keep a 40 per cent share of Hydro One and limit ownership to other shareholders to 10 per cent apiece.</p><p>Canada&#x2019;s big banks, public pension funds, and major foreign firms &#x2014; including the U.S. holding company, Berkshire Hathaway &#x2014; have expressed interest.</p><p>An initial public offering would allow Ontario residents to buy shares in a newly privatized company that owns 97 per cent of the provincial transmission grid.</p><p>The government maintains that ratepayers would be protected against massive hikes because the Ontario Energy Board regulates the price of electricity.</p><p>Ed Clark, the former TD Bank chair in charge of monetizing government assets, has recommended the sale of parts of two of Hydro One&#x2019;s four subsidiaries &#x2014; Hydro One Brampton and Hydro One Networks&#x2019; distribution operations.</p><p>Any proceeds would go toward Premier Kathleen Wynne&#x2019;s $29 billion, decade-long transit and transportation infrastructure improvement plan.</p><p>Clark is also looking at <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/03/13/kathleen-wynne-not-afraid-to-liberalize-beer-wine-sales-minister-says.html">changes</a> to Ontario&#x2019;s alcohol distribution system.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/lcbo-beer-store.html">Star</a> first reported that Sousa&#x2019;s budget is expected to announce that beer and wine sales will be allowed in about 300 of Ontario&#x2019;s 1,500 supermarkets.</p><p>Retail licences will be auctioned off with no one supermarket chain allowed to purchase more than a quarter of them.</p><p>While the government will keep the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the privately owned Beer Store, Wine Rack, and Wine Shop chains are in for changes.</p>
Robert Benzie - Queen's Park Bureau Chief, Richard J. Brennan - Provincial PoliticsOntario Finance Minister Charles Sousa. Tuesday he told Toronto's Board of Trade that Ontario will balance its budget by 2018. Queen's Park also appears ready to sell off a major portion of Hydro One, ostenibly to bankroll public transit projects.Frank GunnTHE CANADIAN PRESSProgressive Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli says the Liberal government's budget projections aren't credible. Richard J. BrennanToronto Star<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.benzie_rob.html">Robert Benzie</a>Queen's Park Bureau Chief<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.brennan_richard.html">Richard J. Brennan</a>Provincial PoliticsU of T professor acquitted on sex assault chargehttp://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/03/31/u-of-t-professor-acquitted-on-sex-assault-charge.html
ed3b6f40-52a2-4693-a89c-9fc0b0d80438Tue, 31 Mar 2015 11:27:35 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/crime/2015/03/31/u-of-t-professor-acquitted-on-sex-assault-charge/andrew-james-payne.jpg"><br/><p>A University of Toronto architecture professor has been acquitted of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in December 2011.</p><p>James Andrew Payne was accused of following the woman, an acquaintance, up to her apartment uninvited, forcibly removing her clothing, climbing on top of her and groping her as she screamed and pleaded with him to stop.</p><p>In the trial which began 18 months ago, the woman testified that Payne stopped after five minutes and before leaving said: &#x201c;I don't want to do anything you don't want to do.&#x201d;</p><p>The woman&#x2019;s identity is covered by a publication ban.</p><p>Payne testified in his own defence that the encounter was consensual and that he stopped when she asked him to.</p><p>&#x201c;I can&#x2019;t do this, I&#x2019;m too drunk,&#x201d; he testified she said.</p><p>In her judgment, Justice Geraldine Sparrow said Payne&#x2019;s consistent and unshaken testimony in light of three key flaws in the complainant&#x2019;s testimony left her with reasonable doubt.</p><p>She said that she did not disbelieve the complainant, who also remained unshaken on the stand, but noted &#x201c;somewhat troublesome&#x201d; inconsistencies between her statement to police and her testimony at trial.</p><p>The complainant told police she was drunk at the time, but testified that she was just tired, Sparrow said. She also told police she was unsure how Payne got into the apartment, but testified at trial that she recalled leaving the building door ajar, but not caring because her boyfriend was coming over. Thirdly, she testified she did not review an account of the night written down by her friend and given to police, which contained some inconsistencies with her testimony.</p><p>Payne&#x2019;s lawyer Stephen Stauffer told reporters an acquittal was the outcome they expected. A relieved-looking Payne declined to answer questions.</p><p>After the sexual assault charge was reported in the media in August 2013, Payne stopped teaching or being on the University of Toronto campus by &#x201c;mutual agreement&#x201d; with the university.</p><p>According to the Sunshine list, he earned $121,827 in 2014.</p><p>Payne still faces a second sexual assault charge in a case involving another woman. That trial is scheduled to begin in April.</p>
Alyshah Hasham - Staff ReporterU of T architecture prof Andrew James Payne, charged with sexual assault (in middle) leaves Old City Hall courthouse in September 2013.Vince TalottaToronto Star<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.hasham_alyshah.html">Alyshah Hasham</a>Staff ReporterRob Ford apologizes publicly for making racial slurs, but rebuffs complainant http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2015/03/31/woodbine-casino-rob-ford-apology-at-city-council.html
ad25189c-0138-4b6b-8f3f-3878132f761cTue, 31 Mar 2015 08:41:00 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/city_hall/2015/03/31/woodbine-casino-rob-ford-apology-at-city-council/rob-ford.b"><br/><p>Councillor Rob Ford (open Rob Ford's policard) offered what he called a &#x201c;heartfelt apology&#x201d; at city council Tuesday for making racial slurs, including &#x201c;n-----&#x201d; and &#x201c;P---&#x201d;, uttered as Toronto mayor in 2012 and 2013.</p><p>But Ford complained on his way to the council chamber about being <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2015/03/26/rob-ford-to-publicly-apologize-for-racial-slurs.html">forced to say sorry by the city integrity commissioner</a>.</p><p>And after standing to say he was &#x201c;ashamed&#x201d; for his &#x201c;hurtful&#x201d; words, Ford rebuffed the Ethiopian community leader whose complaint had triggered the integrity commissioner&#x2019;s investigation and led to the eventual public apology.</p><p>In light of that, when the report on Ford&#x2019;s comments comes up during this week&#x2019;s meeting, he is expected to get a rough ride from some on council.</p><p>Ford&#x2019;s words to council: </p><p>&#x201c;I want to call to your attention the fact that I've taken time to go through the integrity commissioner's report on a formal complaint lodged against me while I was mayor of this great city.</p><p>&#x201c;I'm aware of my hurtful nature of my comments and the fact that they are absolutely unacceptable. I understand the concerns brought forward in the report, including the standards set out by the Ontario Human Rights Code. Mr. Mayor, members of council, I'm deeply ashamed of what I said and I recognize that they bring discredit to both myself and council as a whole. </p><p>&#x201c;I wish to offer my heartfelt apology for my words and actions.&#x201d;</p><p>On his way to saying that, however, Ford told CTV&#x2019;s Natalie Johnson it was &#x201c;ridiculous&#x201d; he had to say &#x201c;sorry,&#x201d; in addition to past blanket apologies, adding: &#x201c;How many times do I have to apologize?&#x201d;</p><p><a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/01/04/samuel_getachew_the_king_of_little_ethiopia.html">Samuel Getachew</a>, the journalist and Little Ethiopia community organizer who filed the formal complaint, told reporters that Ford was &#x201c;trying his best. It&#x2019;s time for me to move on, and I fully accept&#x201d; the apology.</p><p>Then Getachew tweeted to Councillor Paul Ainslie (open Paul Ainslie's policard), who sits beside Ford, that he hoped to shake Ford&#x2019;s hand. Ainslie told the Star he passed the information to Ford, who said, &#x201c;Sure,&#x201d; and walked toward the public gallery. </p><p>Getachew says he shook Ford&#x2019;s hand, uncertain if Ford knew who he was, and said: &#x201c;I accept what you just said and wish you well.&#x2019; </p><p>Ford &#x201c;looked at me and said, &#x2018;Was that you who complained about me?&#x2019; and stopped shaking my hand and pushed my hand toward me aggressively. Then he turned and walked to talk to some school kids in the gallery.&#x201d;</p><p>Getachew said he believes Ford&#x2019;s apology was insincere, but is happy council&#x2019;s code of conduct and the integrity commissioner forced him to atone for words that are hurtful and disrespectful to many Torontonians.</p><p>In a <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-78467.pdf">report</a> on council&#x2019;s agenda, integrity commissioner Val Jepson deemed Ford&#x2019;s racial slurs, uttered during a mayoralty tarred by substance abuse, were &#x201c;harmful, contrary to the (city&#x2019;s) code of conduct and unbecoming of his office.&#x201d;</p><p>Those comments:</p><li>On March 17, 2012, in the presence of his staff, Ford called a taxi driver a &#x201c;P---&#x201d; and mocked the driver&#x2019;s language with &#x201c;fake language sounds.&#x201d;</li><li>On March 5, 2014, Ford said, &#x201c;Nobody sticks up for people like I do, every f---ing k--e, n----r, f---ing w-p, d-go, whatever the race. Nobody does. I&#x2019;m the most racist guy around. I&#x2019;m the mayor of Toronto.&#x201d;</li><p>Ford is expected to discover this week whether the results of CT and MRI scans taken Friday show that his doctors are able to operate on a potentially deadly cancerous tumour in his abdomen. </p><p>&#x201c;It&#x2019;s in the good Lord&#x2019;s hands,&#x201d; he said Friday.</p><p></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p><p annotation="note"></p>
David Rider - City Hall Bureau Chief, Jennifer Pagliaro - City Hall reporterCouncillor Rob Ford offered a "heartfelt apology" Tuesday morning for making racial slurs while he was mayor. The complainant's later attempt at a conciliatory handshake was pushed away.Steve RussellToronto Star<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.rider_david.html">David Rider</a>City Hall Bureau Chief<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.pagliaro_jennifer.html">Jennifer Pagliaro</a>City Hall reporterMan charged in python asphyxiation death of boyshttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/03/31/man-charged-in-python-asphyxiation-death-of-boys.html
0c8d64b2-aa2b-42a6-9676-52598297d60dTue, 31 Mar 2015 10:58:00 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2015/03/31/man-charged-in-python-asphyxiation-death-of-boys/barthe31.jpg"><br/><p>CAMPBELLTON, N.B. &#x2014; Police in New Brunswick have charged a man with criminal negligence causing death after two young brothers were asphyxiated by a python.</p><p><a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/08/13/ontario_to_review_exotic_pet_rules_after_new_brunswick_python_deaths.html">: Ontario to review exotic pet rules after New Brunswick python deaths</a><b>Read more</b>: Ontario to review exotic pet rules after New Brunswick python deaths</p><p>The RCMP said in a release Tuesday that the charge against 38-year-old Jean Claude Savoie was laid in provincial court Monday in Campbellton, N.B.</p><p>Four-year-old Noah Barthe and his six-year-old brother Connor were found dead on Aug. 5, 2013, after an African rock python escaped its enclosure inside Savoie&#x2019;s apartment in Campbellton, where they were staying for a sleepover.</p><p>The RCMP said at the time that the 45-kilogram snake escaped a glass tank through a vent and slithered through a ventilation pipe, but its weight caused the pipe to collapse and it fell into the living room where the boys were sleeping.</p><p>Police say autopsies determined the boys died from asphyxiation.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/02/05/arrest-made-in-2013-case-of-2-boys-killed-by-python-in-new-brunswick. html">RCMP arrested Savoie</a> on Feb. 5 in Quebec and he is due in Campbellton provincial court on April 27 to face the charge.</p>
The Canadian PressNoah Barthe, left, and brother Connor in a family photo. Police in New Brunswick have charged a man after the boys were asphyxiated by a pet python.FacebookThe Canadian PressFamilies without child care costs get most of Tories' child care spending, budget officer sayshttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/03/31/families-without-child-care-costs-get-most-of-tories-child-care-spending-budget-officer-says.html
92594db6-8caf-4a33-a578-edb0dfcbcccaTue, 31 Mar 2015 12:41:04 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2015/03/31/families-without-child-care-costs-get-most-of-tories-child-care-spending-budget-officer-says/pbo.jpg"><br/><p>OTTAWA&#x2014;The bulk of the benefits from the federal Conservatives' enhanced child care spending will go to families with no child care expenses, a federal watchdog says.</p><p>Jean-Denis Frechette, the parliamentary budget officer, analyzed the increases in child care support announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in October. Enhancements of the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), which goes to all families with children of a certain age, and the Child Care Expense Deduction will together drive up Ottawa&#x2019;s child care bill to $7.9 billion by 2017 from $3.3 billion in 2013, the PBO <a href="http://pbo-dpb.gc.ca/files/files/Child_Care_EN.pdf">said</a>.</p><p>Frechette concluded the majority of benefits from the increased spending on child care will go to families with no child care outlays.</p><p>&#x201c;Many of the families that benefit from federal child initiatives do not incur child care expenses &#x2014; either as a result of provincial child care subsidies, alternative arrangements such as having a relative provide child care or because a parent is providing care,&#x201d; the PBO said in Tuesday&#x2019;s report.</p><p>&#x201c;PBO estimates these families will receive the largest net gain of the recent enhancements to the UCCB,&#x201d; the report said.</p><p>In October, Harper announced that, under the Universal Child Care Benefit, parents would receive $160 a month for each child under the age of 6 &#x2014; up from $100 a month &#x2014; and parents would receive $60 a month for children aged 6 through 17. Under the Child Care Expense Deduction, the maximum amount that a family can claim on an income tax return increased to $8,000 from $7,000.</p><p>The latest proposals by the federal government will change the allocation of benefits, according to this analysis.</p><p>&#x201c;In 2015, 49 per cent of these benefits would go to families with child care expenses and young children and the remaining 51 per cent to families with no child care expenses and families with older children.</p><p>&#x201c;Since families with young children spend more on child care, but will receive roughly half (49%) of the federal child care benefits in 2015-2016, their share will only cover 67 per cent of the amount they will spend on child care,&#x201d; the report said.</p><p>&#x201c;Conversely, benefits that families with older children will receive from the government in 2015-2016 will represent nearly eight times the amount they will spend on child care.&#x201d;</p>
Les Whittington - Ottawa Bureau reporterParliamentary budget officer Jean-Denis Frechette found that this year, 51 per cent of the benefits from the federal government's increased spending on child care will go to to families with no child care expenses.Sean KilpatrickTHE CANADIAN PRESS file photo<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.whittington_les.html">Les Whittington</a>Ottawa Bureau reporterLabour minister vows to do more to help precariously employedhttp://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2015/03/31/labour-minister-vows-to-do-more-to-help-precariously-employed.html
3c74cd7d-64b1-4732-be1c-e91756dd65d0Tue, 31 Mar 2015 16:47:00 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/life/health_wellness/2015/03/31/labour-minister-vows-to-do-more-to-help-precariously-employed/kevin-flynnjpg.jpg"><br/><p>Labour Minister Kevin Flynn has put scofflaw employers on notice the province is cracking down on those who take advantage of precariously employed workers.</p><p>&#x201c;I think there are employers in the province of Ontario today that they think somehow they are outside the law, that they can abuse employees, they don&#x2019;t have to pay them, that some how the rules don&#x2019;t apply to them,&#x201d; he told reporters at Queen&#x2019;s Park Tuesday.</p><p>&#x201c;I am of the opinion the rules do apply to them,&#x201d; Flynn said, but conceded some changes still have to be made to protect workers even further.</p><p>He was responding to a<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/31/too-many-ontario-workers-exploited-laws-need-quick-overhaul-study-urges.html"> new report </a>by the Workers&#x2019; Action Centre stating that some employers routinely flout employment laws.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.workersactioncentre.org/updates/new-report-released-still-working-on-the-edge/">report</a> said Ontario employers routinely exploit lax employment laws to avoid paying people in precarious jobs basic entitlements such as overtime pay and even minimum wage.</p><p>Flynn said his government last year passed <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/11/07/worker_protection_bill_passes_with_amendments_to_help_temps_and_wage_theft_claimants.html">Bill 18</a>, which offers greater protection for workers, especially temporary foreign workers. The labour legislation increases wages and extends the amount of time workers can claim back wages.</p><p>The minister pointed out a review of the Employment Standards Act is underway with a &#x201c;view particularly to the changing workplace, which is exactly the precarious workers the Workers&#x2019; Action Centre is talking about in their report.&#x201d;</p><p>Flynn said the authors of the report &#x201c;absolutely have a point&#x201d; and added the review should take about 18 months. &#x201c;I don&#x2019;t have a lot of patience. I am not looking for a two or three year study.&#x201d;</p><p>In the meantime, he promised increased enforcement as Bill 18.</p><i><p>With files from Sara Mojtehedzadeh.</p></i>
Richard J. Brennan - Provincial PoliticsLabour Minister Kevin Flynn warns Ontario employers on Tuesday they can’t cheat their employers out of wages and benefits.
RICHARD BRENNANTORONTO STAR<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.brennan_richard.html">Richard J. Brennan</a>Provincial PoliticsCarley Allison, teenager who sang as she fought cancer, dieshttp://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/31/carley-allison-teenager-who-sang-as-she-fought-cancer-dies.html
0a4a3b6a-1e31-4824-9cef-909c4b3d0209Tue, 31 Mar 2015 15:32:56 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2015/03/31/carley-allison-teenager-who-sang-as-she-fought-cancer-dies/csocarleyallison1t5a1232enh.jpg"><br/><p>Carley Allison, the 19-year-old girl who enthralled thousands with her singing voice, has died.</p><p>In a statement released to the Star, her family said Allison lost her long battle to cancer at around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.</p><p>Her death came two years after she captured the hearts of Torontonians with a YouTube rendition of One Direction&#x2019;s <i>More Than This</i> sung through a breathing tube inserted in her throat during an emergency tracheotomy.</p><p>After 9 months of intense treatment involving rounds of chemotherapy, she entered remission.</p><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1GdpFL6">Carley&#x2019;s More than This on YouTube</a></p><p><a href="http://bit.ly/1BJfKXz">Carley sings O Canada on YouTube</a></p><p>Shortly after, the cancer returned. But Allison wasn&#x2019;t ready to give up the fight.</p><p>&#x201c;Cancer tried to beat me once and it failed, and it will continue to fail. I know I can beat this, it will just take more time,&#x201d; she blogged at the time.</p><p>To &#x201c;kick cancer&#x2019;s butt,&#x201d; the resilient girl started her first year of a general arts program at Queen&#x2019;s University in September and continued to competitive skate, sing and play the piano.</p><p>Amidst her battle with double lung cancer, the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted her to sing the national anthem at the Air Canada Centre for a special Hockey Fights Cancer night in November. At tonight&#x2019;s game, Allison&#x2019;s family, said a moment of silence will be held in her honour.</p><p><b>More on thestar.com</b></p><p><a href="http://on.thestar.com/1NAOxgo">On night hockey fights cancer, ACC embraces teen fighting disease</a></p><p><a href="http://on.thestar.com/1EZGK6Z">Toronto teen battling cancer sings &#x2018;O Canada&#x2019; at ACC</a><online_link name="online_link" class="character" displayname="online_link">END </online_link></p><p><a href="http://on.thestar.com/1NAPXHu">Teen singer Carley Allison again battles rare form of cancer</a></p><p><a href="http://on.thestar.com/1BJf1pq">Teen YouTube singer Carley Allison set for cancer surgery</a><online_link name="online_link" class="character" displayname="online_link">END </online_link></p><p><a href="http://on.thestar.com/1CJ0Bdz">Carley Allison&#x2019;s video draws donations to Princess Margaret</a></p>
Tara Deschamps - Staff ReporterCarley Allison in June 2013, by which time she had already undergone chemotherapy as well as a tracheotomy to overcome her rare form of throat cancer.Chris SoToronto StarCarley on November 1, 2014, when she sang the Canadian and U.S. national anthems at a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks at the Air Canada Centre.David CooperToronto StarCarley at home in 2013 with her wall of support messages. The aspiring singer/song-writer decided to share her music, singing through her adversity. She said she wanted to create awareness, inspire people and raise money for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.TARA WALTONTORONTO STAR<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.deschamps_tara.html">Tara Deschamps</a>Staff Reporter10 things Christopher Hume hates about Torontohttp://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/30/10-things-christopher-hume-hates-about-toronto.html
884785ce-6f0f-46a5-b44e-63fb2275fbd4Mon, 30 Mar 2015 11:00:00 EDTIn a 10-part video series, the Star’s urban affairs columnist delves into the things he hates most about the city. No. 9: A road repair system that cost Torontonians $26 million last year alone.
Christopher Hume - Urban Issues, Architecture<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.hume_christopher.html">Christopher Hume</a>Urban IssuesCondo market feels heat as house prices soarhttp://www.thestar.com/business/real_estate/2015/03/31/condo-market-feels-heat-as-house-prices-soar.html
e818a22d-06cc-4437-97e8-ece36335f1b1Tue, 31 Mar 2015 15:29:41 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/business/real_estate/2015/03/31/condo-market-feels-heat-as-house-prices-soar/77-maitland-place.jpg"><br/><p>When Toronto realtor Sohail Mansoor listed a 30-year-old, two-bedroom condo on Maitland Place for $419,900 earlier this month, even the building&#x2019;s security guard warned that the price was too high.</p><p>Fellow realtors wondered why Mansoor would hold back considering offers for a week &#x2014; a common strategy for whipping up bidding wars in Toronto&#x2019;s frantically competitive house market, but almost unheard of for condos.</p><p>&#x201c;It&#x2019;s very difficult to find a good-sized two-bedroom, two-bath condo downtown for under $450,000, so I knew there would be a lot of interest,&#x201d; says the veteran agent.</p><p>Just two days after the beautifully renovated 15th-floor unit at Wellesley and Church Sts. was listed, Mansoor got a bully bid of $435,000, some $15,000 over the asking price, aimed at snagging the suite before the official deadline for offers.</p><p>&#x201c;This is the new reality, especially for larger units that show well, are priced well and have reasonable maintenance fees, says Mansoor. &#x201c;And I think that is a trend that&#x2019;s going to continue, given that house prices are becoming unattainable and 18 to 20 offers seem to be the norm now.&#x201d;</p><p>As real estate&#x2019;s spring market heads into high gear, realtors are seeing a startling surge in demand for hard lofts, unique condos and townhomes as more house hunters realize all that concern about a bubble may be just a lot of hot air.</p><p>Bidding wars continue unabated in many areas of the 416 region and even beyond. Just this month, the frenzy reached a new fever pitch in Riverdale &#x2014; probably the hottest area of the city right now &#x2014; as a semi and a detached house on Victor Ave., one listed for $949,900 and the other for almost $1.2 million, each sold for $300,000 over asking price.</p><p>Realtors are keeping a close eye on three others, with offer dates set for this week, that are also expected to draw a flurry of bids and push the average house price even further out of reach in Riverdale and, by extension, the GTA.</p><p>Some of that frenzy of fear seems to be spilling over into the condo market as house hunters search for the next best alternative.</p><p>&#x201c;We&#x2019;re seeing a lot of competition on unique properties, like lofts, because there are only so many of them and developers aren&#x2019;t building anymore, says condo realtor Ryan Wykes.</p><p>He points to an 825 square foot, one-bedroom-plus-den condo in the Toy Factory Lofts in Liberty Village that was listed earlier this month for $519,900, with a 10-day holdback on offers.</p><p>Two bully bids were registered within days &#x2014; one for $555,000, a new square-foot record for the building.</p><p>&#x201c;We&#x2019;re seeing prices on townhouses skyrocketing and any two-bedroom condo or bigger selling in the next year is going to see such competition,&#x201d; predicts Wykes.</p><p>&#x201c;We haven&#x2019;t seen activity like this in three years, since the summer of 2012 when (the federal government) announced they were going to tighten up the mortgage lending rules and everybody rushed to buy.&#x201d;</p><p>In February, realtor Andrew Harrild was surprised to get five offers within 24 hours for a client&#x2019;s 1,300 square foot, one bedroom plus den loft in the sought-after, brick-and-beam Broadview Lofts in South Riverdale. </p><p>It was listed for $739,900 and sold for $756,000.</p><p>&#x201c;There are people out there now who want to get into the market, but are looking to hedge themselves in some way in case there is any future correction by getting themselves into something unique that you don&#x2019;t see everyday,&#x201d; says Harrild.</p><p>What&#x2019;s surprising is that the condo sector, on the surface, doesn&#x2019;t suffer from a supply and demand problem: There were 52,464 units under construction as of the end of 2014 and a total of 285,217 units proposed to be built in the next 10-plus years, although not all will go ahead, according to market research firm Urbanation.</p><p>The number of house listings, however, hassunk to new lows, especially within an easy commute of the core, as homeowners opt to stay put rather than take on the high costs of a move. The average sale price of a detached house in the 416 region officially surpassed the $1 million milestone in February and bidding wars continue to hurtle house prices higher.</p><p>Most of the condos coming on-stream, however, are small, cookie-cutter one-bedrooms or one-bedroom plus dens, mostly targeted to investors as rental apartments. They don&#x2019;t tend to make viable alternatives to houses, says Harrild, adding that buyers have gotten much more savvy about looking for bigger units or two-bedrooms that offer some hope for living in the long term.</p><b><p>Newer isn&#x2019;t always better:</p></b><p>There are some significant dollars and sense benefits to buying older condos, according to statistics from condo research firm Urbanation.</p><p>Projects built in GTA before 2000</p><p>Ave selling price: $374,000</p><p>Ave. size: 1,141 sf</p><p>Ave. price per square foot: $328</p><p>Ave maintenance fees: 64 cents per sf</p><p>Annual price growth in Q4 2014, year-over-year: 7 per cent</p><p></p><p>Projects built in GTA after 2000</p><p>Ave. selling price $395,000</p><p>Ave. size: 812 sf</p><p>Ave. price per square foot: $486</p><p>Ave. maintenance fees: 61 cents per sf</p><p>Annual price growth in Q4 2014, year-over-year: 0.2 per cent</p><p>(Note that total maintenance fees are substantially higher on old condos &#x2014; an average of $730 per month, vs. $495 per sf on newer condos, largely because the older units have more square footage.)</p><p></p>
Susan Pigg - Business ReporterA two bedroom condo recently sold for $15,000 over the $419,900 asking price at 77 Maitland Place. Competition for bigger or unique condos has broken out in the wake of house prices that have climbed largely out of reach.
Susan Pigg/Toronto Star<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.pigg_susan.html">Susan Pigg</a>Business ReporterLiberal party offers ‘beautiful’ Justin Trudeau sketch in fundraising efforthttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/03/31/liberal-party-offers-beautiful-justin-trudeau-sketch-in-fundraising-effort.html
be7c50f2-39a6-415f-b62e-1c19c7a1ca91Tue, 31 Mar 2015 11:02:30 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2015/03/31/liberal-party-offers-beautiful-justin-trudeau-sketch-in-fundraising-effort/trudeausketchjpg.jpg"><br/><p>The Liberal party showcased the little-known artistic talent of Justin Trudeau in a fundraiser this week.</p><p>Donors were promised a postcard-sized version of a sketch drawn by the leader if the party reached a goal of $350,000 raised in March.</p><p>The sketch, entitled &#x201c;Canadian Liberty,&#x201d; depicts the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, which was designed by Antoine Pedrock, an architect from New Mexico.</p><p>Liberal party spokesman Olivier Duchesneau said the sketch was inspired by his visit to the museum, but also by the greater theme of liberty that Trudeau discussed in a recent speech.</p><p>In <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/03/09/justin-trudeau-accuses-conservatives-of-stoking-fear-anxiety.html">that speech</a>, Trudeau also accused the Conservative government of spreading fear of Muslims.</p><p>Duchesneau said this is the first time Trudeau has released a work of art for fundraising efforts, but he sketches as a hobby.</p><p>&#x201c;He is not formally trained, but he does find the time to draw often. He usually sketches on engineering projects: bridges, buildings, other pieces of infrastructure. It&#x2019;s just a personal interest,&#x201d; said Duchesneau.</p><p>The fundraising pitch said that if the party raised $350,000 by Monday at midnight, everyone who donated money to the party in March would receive a &#x201c;beautiful, limited-edition&#x201d; print of the sketch as a postcard.</p><p>Duchesneau said the party has reached that goal.</p>
Joanna Smith - Ottawa Bureau reporterThe Liberal party says it reached its $350,000 fundraising goal after offering donor's a print of Justin Trudeau's sketch "Canadian Liberty."Liberal Party of Canada<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.smith_joanna.html">Joanna Smith</a>Ottawa Bureau reporterTrio accused of forcing second girl into the sex tradehttp://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/03/31/trio-accused-of-forcing-second-girl-into-the-sex-trade.html
94da09ae-7949-4296-bd25-c8ce9f186784Tue, 31 Mar 2015 14:44:06 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/crime/2015/03/31/trio-accused-of-forcing-second-girl-into-the-sex-trade/humantraffickingmugs.jpg"><br/><p>Two young men and a woman previously accused of forcing a 14-year-old girl into the sex trade at a Toronto hotel face additional charges after a 16-year-old girl came forward.</p><p>The three are accused of keeping the girls at a downtown hotel, where they forced them into prostitution and took the money they made.</p><p>&#x201c;It is further alleged that these three accused prey on vulnerable individuals, lure them away from friends and family and control their every move,&#x201d; Insp. Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, commander of the Toronto police sex crimes unit, told a news conference Tuesday.</p><p>The girls, she said, &#x201c;believe they are entering a world of glamour and riches.&#x201d;</p><p>The victims would allegedly be moved &#x201c;from hotel to hotel to make them dependent and confused,&#x201d; Beaven-Desjardins said. &#x201c;When the victim wants to leave, they hold them against their will with threats of violence.&#x201d;</p><p>The sex crimes unit launched an investigation on Feb. 27 when hotel staff called police about the 14-year-old girl, she said.</p><p>Security had reportedly called the hotel room after an incident in which the girl tried to leave the room but was held there, and the girl asked for help.</p><p>Since news broke of the trio&#x2019;s arrest, a 16-year-old has come forward with similar allegations, Beaven-Desjardins said.</p><p>She told police she was picked up in January and forced into the sex trade over two days. She reported receiving threatening messages and phone calls after she escaped.</p><p>A total of 43 charges have now been laid against Natasha Robitaille, 18; Sage Finestone, 21; and Nicholas Faria, 19. They were charged again on March 16 in connection with the second victim.</p><p>Robitaille, who police say attended school in Orillia, is accused of luring both girls to the hotel. Beaven-Desjardins said police believe the girls were known to her previously.</p><p>The two accused men attended school in Toronto.</p><p>Michele Anderson, of Covenant House, also spoke at Tuesday&#x2019;s news conference about services her organization offers to victims of human trafficking.</p><p>Dawn Harvard, president of the Native Women&#x2019;s Association of Canada, spoke about missing and murdered aboriginal women.</p><p>&#x201c;Our girls are not just missing, like somebody&#x2019;s wallet or somebody&#x2019;s keys,&#x201d; she said. &#x201c;Our girls are being stolen from our communities, from our families and from our nations.&#x201d;</p><p>Beaven-Desjardins said there was no connection between Harvard&#x2019;s presence at the news event and the specific cases of the two teens.</p><p>&#x201c;I&#x2019;m not saying that these victims are aboriginal. I&#x2019;m saying that part of the investigation has led us to think that there may be further victims that may be aboriginal.&#x201d;</p><p>Investigators are asking anyone with information to call the sex crimes unit at 416-808-7474, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).</p>
Sam Colbert - Staff ReporterSage Finestone, 21, Natasha Robitaille, 18, and Nicholas Faria, 19, face charges in a human trafficking investigation involving two girls, Toronto police say.<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.colbert_sam.html">Sam Colbert</a>Staff ReporterBacking up surprisingly tough for Toronto police http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/31/backing-up-surprisingly-tough-for-toronto-police.html
62c73b97-1e88-4e81-88ca-f1de8cc572a8Tue, 31 Mar 2015 05:00:00 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2015/03/31/backing-up-surprisingly-tough-for-toronto-police/cruiser-crash.jpg"><br/><p>Toronto police vehicles face many perils on city roads, from chasing after suspects to driving through red lights. But the number one reason for collisions on the force is something much more mundane. </p><p>According to data obtained by the Star, &#x201c;improper reversing&#x201d; is the most common cause of police vehicle crashes in Toronto, accounting for 518 since 2009. </p><p>That&#x2019;s out of roughly 3,500 collisions racked up in six years, for reasons ranging from speeding to bad U-turns to unsafe lane changes. </p><p>&#x201c;Improper reversing usually happens in a parking lot-type situation, where they hit a pole or some other inanimate object,&#x201d; explained police spokesperson Meaghan Gray. </p><p>Councillor Chin Lee (open Chin Lee's policard), a member of the Police Services Board, said &#x201c;we need to bring that number down.&#x201d;</p><p>&#x201c;I guess they need to more careful when they&#x2019;re backing up,&#x201d; he added, laughing. &#x201c;Maybe our parking lots are too tight for these big cruisers.&#x201d; </p><p>Officers were deemed &#x201c;at fault&#x201d; in 323 of the reversing crashes.</p><p>The 3,568 total accidents run the gamut from forgetting to put the car in park (there were 45 of these) to the kind of collisions that stem from dangerous car chases. </p><p>For example, 79 crashes in the past six years resulted from &#x201c;intentional contact,&#x201d; a category that covers cruisers using aggressive ramming or boxing-in tactics. Police were deemed at fault in 50 of those cases. </p><p>The collisions span the period from 2009 to Jan. 6, 2015. Police were found to be at fault in 1,798 crashes, or slightly more than half of the total.</p><p>That ratio is considerably higher than that of TTC drivers. A Star <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/07/04/ttc_reports_nearly_18000_crashes_since_2009.html">report</a> last July found that fewer than one-third of bus and streetcar collisions were deemed preventable by the transit commission. </p><p>Gray defended the force&#x2019;s drivers, noting that they often take to the road in high-pressure situations. </p><p>&#x201c;We do train our officers, but they are involved in a number of different driving situations, responding to emergency-type situations, that can leave them susceptible to getting into various types of collisions,&#x201d; she said. </p><p>Police union president Mike McCormack declined to comment.</p><p>The collision total includes incidents involving police trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, ATVs and buses, as well as the regular fleet of cruisers. </p><p>In 2012, the last year for which figures are available, Toronto police cars and motorcycles travelled 36,770,875 kilometres. With 611 collisions that year, the force had about half as many crashes per kilometre as the TTC. </p><p>Toronto police collisions have been in steady decline since 2009, when cops racked up 650. In 2014, the number was down to 493. Gray attributed the slide to better training. </p><p>In some road collisions, police are victims. In the summer of 2013, a bike cop was <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/02/toronto_cop_doored_on_duty_wants_police_to_track_incidents.html">&#x201c;doored&#x201d;</a> in a No Frills parking lot, throwing him to the pavement. The officer broke his sternum. (He later wrote to the Toronto Police Services Board asking that the force resume tracking such incidents, which it has since <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/08/14/toronto_cyclists_doored_dozens_of_times_since_november.html">done</a>.) </p><p>When police cruisers do crash, they can do serious damage. Between 2000 and 2013, the force paid out settlements in 15 civil lawsuits involving car crashes, the biggest for nearly $2 million. </p><p>Councillor Lee also noted that collisions can add to insurance costs. </p><p> &#x201c;How much of our budget is going to fixing things up and paying the other party in the collision?&#x201d; he said. </p>
Eric Andrew-Gee - Staff ReporterA Toronto police crash that sent two officers to hospital.Victor Biro<a rel="author" href="http://www.thestar.com/authors.andrew-gee_eric.html">Eric Andrew-Gee</a>Staff ReporterGermanwings crash: Co-pilot told flight school of serious depression, airline sayshttp://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/03/31/germanwings-crash-french-aviation-agency-examines-cockpit-entry-rules-psychological-screening.html
3174d593-3014-43f3-8d87-bcbf33f244deTue, 31 Mar 2015 11:26:56 EDT<img src="http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2015/03/31/germanwings-crash-french-aviation-agency-examines-cockpit-entry-rules-psychological-screening/germanwings.jpg"><br/><p></p><p>BERLIN &#x2014; German airline Lufthansa says the co-pilot of the passenger plane that crashed in the French Alps last week informed his flight school in 2009 that he had had a &#x201c;serious depressive episode.&#x201d;</p><p>Lufthansa says the note was found in emails that Andreas Lubitz sent to the Lufthansa flight school when he resumed his training after an interruption.</p><p>The airline said Tuesday it has provided the documents to prosecutors and declined to make any further comment.</p><p>Questions have been raised about what the airline knew about Lubitz's condition before last week's fatal crash.</p><p>In Paris, French aviation investigators said Tuesday they will examine &#x201c;systemic weaknesses&#x201d; like cockpit entry rules and psychological screening procedures that could have led to the <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/03/26/germanwings-interactive-a-minute-by-minute-look-at-the-planes-final-moments.html">Germanwings crash</a>, while Lufthansa said its insurers set aside $300 million (U.S.) to deal with possible fallout from the disaster.</p><p>Authorities say Lubitz, who in the past had been treated for suicidal tendencies, locked the captain out of the cockpit on March 24 before deliberately crashing the Airbus 320 into a mountain in the French Alps. All 150 people aboard the flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf were killed.</p><p>The French aviation agency known as BEA said it aims to provide a &#x201c;detailed analysis&#x201d; of the Germanwings cockpit voice recorder information and any other flight data &#x2014; but it also plans to widen its search to examine issues that could affect the worldwide aviation industry.</p><p>&#x201c;(We will study) systemic weaknesses (that) might possibly have led to this aviation disaster,&#x201d; BEA said in its first statement since prosecutors detailed the co-pilot&#x2019;s suspected role.</p><p>The agency is studying both psychological screening procedures and rules applied to entering and leaving the cockpit in the industry, as well as cockpit door locking systems.</p><p>The BEA announcement signalled the latest re-think about airline procedures in the wake of the Germanwings crash, which jolted an aviation industry already reeling from other disasters like the disappearance of planes over the oceans and the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine.</p><p>While BEA&#x2019;s findings only apply to this particular accident, if the agency discovered wider problems, that could spark aviation regulators and airline companies worldwide to make changes. This has already occurred even in the last week, with several airlines and the European aviation regulator announcing that they now recommend having two people in the cockpit at all times.</p><p>Lufthansa spokeswoman Kerstin Lau said $300 million is the amount currently reserved by insurers to deal with &#x201c;all costs arising in connection with the case.&#x201d;</p><p>Last week, Lufthansa &#x2014; Germanwings&#x2019; parent company &#x2014; offered immediate aid of up to &#x20ac;50,000 ($68,000) per passenger to relatives of the victims. Those payments are separate from eventual compensation payments.</p><p>Airlines are required under a treaty governing deaths and injuries aboard international flights to compensate relatives of victims for proven damages of up to a limit currently set at about $200,000&#x2014; regardless of what caused the crash.</p><p>However, higher compensation is possible if a carrier is held liable.</p><p>German prosecutors say Lubitz, 27, received psychotherapy before obtaining his pilot&#x2019;s licence and that medical records from that time referred to <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/03/30/germanwings-co-pilot-showed-suicidal-tendencies-in-psychotherapy-prosecutors.html">&#x201c;suicidal tendencies.&#x201d;</a> They have given no dates for his treatment, but said visits to doctors since then showed no record of any suicidal tendencies or aggression against others.</p><p>They also have found torn-up sick notes from doctors, including one that would have kept Lubitz off work on the day of the crash.</p><p>Lufthansa says the young pilot had passed all required medical checks since starting work for its subsidiary in September 2013.</p><p>Investigators said Tuesday they hope to have found DNA samples for everyone killed on the Germanwings flight within the next 24 hours. Lt. Col. Jean-Marc Menichini, speaking at the crash site in the Alpine town of Le Vernet, said the search was still on for the second black box.</p><p>French President Francois Hollande, speaking to reporters during a previously planned trip to Germany, said: &#x201c;By the end of the week at the latest, it will be possible to identify all the victims thanks to the DNA samples taken.&#x201d;</p><p>Hollande said German and French ministers also discussed the need to improve checks of air passengers within Europe's visa-free Schengen zone, and to &#x201c;ensure that we can also strengthen our safety rules for piloting planes.&#x201d;</p><p>Construction workers on Monday cut a road to the steep, mountainous crash site to speed up recovery efforts, since previously emergency workers had to rely on helicopters.</p><p>&#x201c;We can accelerate the work. It will be much easier not to have to depend on the weather,&#x201d; said Lt. Col. Philippe Sansa of the rescue service.</p><p>German investigators from a special team tasked with identifying the victims and determining their cause of death are expected to travel to the crash site on Wednesday.</p>
Associated PressFamily members lay tributes to the victims in front of a stele, a stone slab erected as a monument in the area where a Germanwings aircraft crashed in the French Alps, in Le Vernet, France. The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 into an Alpine mountain last Tuesday killed all 150 people aboard, and has raised questions about the mental state of the co-pilot. Authorities believe the 27-year-old German deliberately sought to destroy the Airbus A320 as it flew from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.Claude ParisTHE ASSOCIATED PRESSPassengers look at a memorial for Germanwings air crash victims at the airport in Dusseldorf on Tuesday.Martin MeissnerTHE ASSOCIATED PRESSAssociated Press